POLICE 'SWEEP' THE STREETS IN EIGHT-DAY INITIATIVE

Both police forces in the City of Kawartha Lakes teamed up to 'sweep'
the streets last week.

It was the final leg of an eight-day crimefighting blitz by Kawartha
Lakes OPP and Kawartha Lakes Police (dubbed Project Clean Sweep) that
resulted in 76 arrests.

The initiative also drew on OPP resources, using the Central Region
Crime Unit, the drug enforcement secion and the Central Region Major
Investigative Support Team.

Officers focused on repeat or high-risk offenders, probation and
parole violators, known drug traffickers and anyone suspected of
non-compliance with court-ordered conditions.

Of the 76 people arrested, police say 49 were wanted on warrants and
29 others were arrested for breach of probation, breach of
recognizance and drug offences.

Police laid 25 drug charges under the Controlled Drugs and Substances
Act, and seized drugs with an estimated street value of $54,000.
Police also laid 18 Criminal Code charges, ranging from theft,
possession of property obtained by crime, driving while disqualified
and unsafe storage of firearms.

The blitz also included drivers. Officers laid 93 charges, including
speeding, driving with no licence or driving while a licence was
suspended and racing.

According to police, the initiative was implemented "to send a
positive message to the communities in the City of Kawartha Lakes."

Kawartha Lakes Police Inspector Mark Mitchell explained how such
iniatives work.

"The OPP did an investigative plan...we looked at all of the
outstanding warrants, parole and probation orders," he said. "It's the
first time in awhile that we've done this, but there's a definite
benefit [to the community]."

The inspector said the courts "absolutely support" such initiatives.
Along with looking for people on outstanding warrants, police also
visited homes, checking to make sure people were complying with court
ordered conditions and conditional sentences.

"People who are released on conditions by the courts are released with
the understanding they are going to comply with those conditions,"
Insp. Mitchell said. "If they don't, the courts don't take it
lightly." He said the public's tips, either through Crime Stoppers or
calls to police are a big factor in the success of such police operations.

Police also checked to ensure people on curfews were at home or people
ordered to abstain from drinking alcohol were sober, he said.

Police point to recidivism as "a constant underlying factor in a
majority of the crimes in our community."

OPP Const. Mark Boileau said a lot of crime in a community is
committed by repeat offenders.

"A lot of these offenders are out on conditions, so we look at them,"
he said. "It's sad, but a lot of them are repeat offenders. In
[Project Clean Sweep] we looked at compliance with conditions such as
curfews, alcohol, and contacts; making sure people weren't hanging
around with people the court ordered them not to have any contact with."

He said officers conducted residence checks, not just at night, but,
"at all hours of the day."

Const. Boileau said police acted on public and Crime Stoppers
informations to target known drug offenders. He said the initiative
was particularly effective because it pulled together the resouces to
act on information already compiled by individual officers in the
course of their daily work.

"We were able to pull the resources together for a concentrated effort
and act on the tips we already had."

Const. Boileau agreed with Insp. Mitchell, saying the courts frown on
violations of bail conditions. And, he added, judges don't like it
either.

"Judges don't like it when their [court] orders are ignored; they
expect them to be complied with," he said.

"We are making the effort to get these people back into the justice
system, and to send a message to the community that we're out there."